French Camp native earns Bronze Star for service

Air Force Lt. Col. William M. Villegas II, a San Joaquin County native, was awarded a Bronze Star on Dec. 18 for his service in Afghanistan. The medal was presented at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Air Force Lt. Col. William M. Villegas II, a San Joaquin County native, was awarded a Bronze Star on Dec. 18 for his service in Afghanistan. The medal was presented at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Villegas earned the honor for his service in Afghanistan, where, according to the citation, he led 300 convoys and 178 missions to implement programs that led to more than 1,000 Afghans being trained in logistics.

"Lieutenant Colonel Villegas' actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, and the United States Air Force," the citation read.

Villegas was born in French Camp. He graduated from Franklin High School in Stockton in 1986 and joined the Navy that year. Villegas transferred to the Air Force in 1994.

Villegas served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-91 and was assigned to Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan for a year. During this tour, he traveled the entire country with an Afghan and coalition embedded mobile logistics training team.